Endocrine studies in patients with the "empty sella syndrome"

During a 12-month period, 17 patients with enlarged sellae turcicae underwent pneumoencephalography and endocrine function tests prior to radiation therapy. In five of these patients, and in a patient for whom the diagnosis had been made previously, substantial amounts of injected air extended into the sella turcica. This syndrome occurred spontaneously in five patients and developed 14 years after radiation treatment for acromegaly in another. Various degrees of pituitary hormone dysfunction were noted in four of six patients.